Methods for successfully obtaining two dimensional ("2-D") color image data for objects have been developed. This process is commonly known as two dimensional scanning or digitizing. When an object is scanned, a digital data file is created which contains image data including color information which is associated with a set of two dimensional points or coordinates. The color information is obtained by an optical detector or set of optical detectors that are typically organized in a one or two dimensional array.
Matching the color information with the correct two dimensional point or location is not a significant problem in two dimensional scanning since the two dimensional point on which the optical detector is focused is the same point that is associated with the color information obtained by the detector. The color information is mislocated only to the extent that there is some error in the location of the point on which the detector is focused (e.g. an error introduced by the optical system) and that error can readily be minimized.
The problem of associating color information with three dimensional ("3-D") objects is not so easily solved. This is because prior art methods obtain color information with a two dimensional scanning method, while position information is obtained by a three dimensional scanning method. The mapping of the 2-D color information to the 3-D position information is a complicated process which is prone to significant error.
Many methods exist for obtaining the three dimensional location of the surface points of the object. One such method is a system which uses a laser range finder to scan the object and record the distance between the known three dimensional location of the range finder and the measured location of the surface of the object. The result of using this method or other methods of generating three dimensional surface models is a set of three dimensional points which accurately represent the surface of the object. A characteristic of this method and other methods of obtaining a three dimensional surface model is that it is inherently monochromatic, that is, no color information is obtained in the process. If three dimensional color information is desired, then it must be generated by somehow combining or conformally mapping the two dimensional color information onto the three dimensional surface model.
The problem of conformally mapping the two dimensional color information onto the three dimensional surface model is difficult and it is common for mismatching of color information with the three dimensional points to occur. The problem may be visualized by imagining a white statue or bust of a person's head and a color photograph of the same person's face. The photograph cannot simply be projected onto the bust to transfer the correct color information to the correct points on the bust or significant distortion will occur. A significant amount of judgment must be exercised in order to correctly associate the color information from the photograph with the correct surface points on the bust. Similarly, it is difficult to accurately associate color information obtained from two dimensional optical detectors with the correct points on a three dimensional surface model. Another problem in the prior art is that color information is not used to determine surface locations, which means less than the total amount of information that is available is being used. Furthermore, both a 2-D and 3-D system is required, which adds cost.
What is needed is a way of generating a set of three dimensional points representing a surface in such way that the three dimensional points are already associated with color data so that conformally mapping separately generated color data onto the set of three dimensional surface points is not necessary. Furthermore, it is desirable to utilize all available frequencies of light to determine surface point positions to maximize the accuracy of the scanning process and to eliminate a separate 3-D scanning step.